Hackers (those who try to break into our computers) and phishers (those who try to trick users into letting them into the system) are generally after computing capacity or data. In some cases, they want to use our computers for nefarious purposes. For example, they may want to use our computers to spread viruses or Read More
Expertise arises from both knowing about the field and experience solving real-world problems in the field. In traditional classrooms, the teacher is the individual who has the greatest expertise in the field, and hence is the community’s expert. Increasingly, educators are sharing the role of the foremost expert in the classroom community.
I recently helped my son move about 1000 miles away. He was driving a truck full of stuff and I was driving one of their cars. This is a task parents and their children have been doing for decades. The details of doing it sure have changed. Our phones were connected to our vehicles, so Read More
Generative AI has been a “thing” for more than a year. My colleagues in education seem to be surviving despite the warnings that “the sky is falling.” Some are working to integrate it into their instruction; some are avoiding it. I was a student when handheld calculators became ubiquitous, I was a teacher when computers Read More
It is important for all IT professionals who work in school to understand the nature of the users and their specific needs. Every decision made and every action taken by IT professionals (regardless of their role) affects end users either directly (by providing troubleshooting, training, and other support) or indirectly (by installing and configuring systems Read More
Philosopher and scientist Michael Polanyi used the term tacit knowledge to describe understanding that is implicit and difficult to state with precision. For this reason, tacit knowledge cannot be stated as an algorithm, so it cannot be downloaded to digital devices. According to Polanyi, tacit knowledge is necessary to frame a problem, to develop a Read More
200: Is It an Innovation? Consider the overhead projector as an educational innovation. Prior to the overhead projector, a teacher wrote notes and drew pictures on slate boards with chalk. When writing or drawing, a teacher’s back was to the students and the contents were bounded by the edges of the slate. With the overhead Read More
The keyboard strokes that become digital displays that humans recognize as words and sentences are actually a series of digital signals. Those signals are stored as magnetic signals or optical signals on disks or electrically in memory. As long as the physical media are safe and the file is not otherwise compromised, the messages can Read More
Because information technology (hardware and software as well as network resources) changes so quickly and new tools are developed and refined so quickly, it is likely that options exist that even connected educators are not aware exist. The purpose of an awareness presentation is simply to introduce a technology or strategy to an educator (or Read More
I posted on social media recently: Can educators devise assessments that can predict how students will develop rather than what they did? I was pushed to explain myself and that got me thinking what exactly I meant. So, here goes! We all know the culture of assessment in education. We are charged with documenting what Read More